SWEET JASMINE

Jasminum dianthifolium
(Jasminum suavissimum)
FAMILY: OLEACEAE
 


This little plant, like all the jasmines, can be a twiner with the ability to climb. However it can also spread underground, and is more often seen as a small, low-growing plant in grasslands. Its substantial underground root system means that it can withstand grazing, and (as seen below) attacks by a Council grader. What seem to be a group of plants in the picture probably comes from a single root.




It has what I think is the best perfume of all the local jasmines. You might like to compare it with the other local jasmine species (Jasminum simplicifolium,  Jasminum didymum subsp.  racemosum,
Jasminum didymum subsp. lineare, and the natural hybrid, Jasminum simplifolium x suavissimum), to find your own favourite. The perfume is strongest in the evenings and early mornings, which is typical of moth-pollinated flowers.




Provided they are found by pollinators, the flowers will be followed by small, succulent black fruits, which appeal strongly to small birds.

In a garden, the best situation for this plant might be an a mulched shrubbery, where it can wander at will, popping up wherever it likes. However it can be grown in many situations, including in a pot where it can be left to trail over the edge, or provided with a tiny trellis. Once established, it can be pruned as hard as you like to help it to grow into a bushy plant.

It likes the dappled light among trees, or a situation where it gets sun for only part of the day,  and tolerates all soils except heavy poorly drained clay.  It survives frost by dying down to its roots, regrowing in spring. Its lifespan is not known, but you can expect it to be long-lived.